A small nearctic goose which closely resembles white phase Lesser Snow Goose but is subtley different having a shorter neck, rounder head and a small stubby bill without the black patch on the mandibles. Dark phase Ross's Geese do occur but are rare whilst Lesser Snow x Ross's hybrids are an additional confusing factor in identification.

Ross's Goose is not yet accepted as a genuine wild vagrant in the UK though they are being recorded with increasing frequency whilst the wild population in North America has increased to over a million birds with increasing numbers now wintering on the eastern seaboard of the USA.

This individual was photographed at Loch Leven amongst wintering Pink-footed Geese, some of which may have been Greenland breeding birds. Ross's Goose does not however breed in Greenland & this bird, though very wary, may possibly have escaped from a private collection.